Court in Oklahoma denies summary judgment in employment case

Posted By
Mazaheri Law Firm

A case before a federal court in Oklahoma dealing with a college professor's
claims of employment discrimination and retaliation will go forward towards
trial. The court recently denied the university's motion for summary
judgment in the employment law case. The case reveals some reasons employers
need to have solid social media policies in place for their employees.

The case is a result of the professor's application for tenure being
denied by the university. A couple years ago, while the professor was
the head of his department, some disparaging posts about him on a social
media site were made by other professors in the department. The plaintiff
in the case, who is of Native American origin, reported those posts to
the university administration. As a result, the university issued reprimands
to the employees involved, and shortly thereafter one of them resigned
her position. The decision to deny tenure was made, in part, due to the
votes of some of the previously reprimanded professors, including the
husband of the one who resigned.

In the motion for summary judgment, the university argued that the passage
of two years between the social media reprimands and the tenure vote rendered
any causal connection between the incidents impossible. The court disagreed,
reasoning that it was plausible, and even likely, that the tenure votes
of the reprimanded professors were influenced by the fact that the plaintiff
had reported the social media posts, even two years later. Thus, the case
will proceed toward a trial on the merits of plaintiff professor's claims.

As illustrated by the above case, employers should think very carefully
about the social media policies they have regarding employees, and strive
to ensure that they are clear and that all workers are aware of the consequences
of violating said policies. In the internet age, it is easier than ever
before to document potential illegal employment discrimination, due to
the explosion of use of e-mail and social media.